A Miraculous Reveal
by Kasienda
Summary: Series of one-shots and drabbles all centered around The Reveal Moment for the identity reveal junkie. Identities will be revealed, feelings will be confessed, and secrets will be discovered through contrived situations, accidents, meddling friends, desperate moments, and moments of emotional vulnerability. Love-square focused, but will not remain exclusive to them.
1. Superhero Survey

A/N: Trigger warning - anxiety/panic attack.

Slight spoilers for Gamer 2.0 and Miraculer if you squint.

This is so not the piece I am supposed to be working on! Ahhh! I actually want to finish my WIPs someday! I do! I swear! But in the meantime, enjoy this one shot!

Special shout out to my sister, AsuraSantosha for being an awesome beta!

… 

**Superhero Survey**

Marinette was not only on time for once, but actually early. She allowed herself the luxury of a slow pace as she nibbled at a buttery croissant, still warm from the oven, savoring each flakey bite. Croissants never got old – even when you lived in a bakery. Despite arriving on time, she was still one of the last ones to make it to the classroom. Only Adrien and Ivan had yet to show up.

"Hey Marinette!" Nino greeted from his normal seat.

"Morning Nino! What is Alya doing?" she asked, eyeing her best friend who was on the other side of the room talking to Max and Kim with her nose buried in her notebook as she took notes of whatever they were saying.

"A superhero survey," Nino explained.

"A what now?" She asked, taking her usual seat.

"She's asking everyone who their favorite hero is for the Ladybug."

Marinette pushed the last piece of pastry into her mouth, wishing she had thought to grab another one. Two had seemed like plenty at the time, but the truth was however many she had, she always wanted just one more.

Alya came down from the back of the room and slid into her seat beside Marinette.

"What's the verdict of the class, babe?" Nino asked, leaning forward to glance at her tally.

"Five for Ladybug, three for Chat Noir, two votes for Queen Bee and one for Rena Rouge!"

"Let me guess. Chloe and Sabrina for Queen Bee?" Marinette interjected dryly.

"I keep survey responses confidential," Alya quipped, as she scribbled out her totals in the margin.

"Actually, Chloe voted for Ladybug," Nino shared.

"Nino!" Alya objected. "I keep survey responses confidential!" Nino and Marinette both ignored her.

"Huh. I guess that makes sense," Marinette agreed. She really wondered if Chloe would feel the same way if she knew who her heroine was under the mask. "Who'd you vote for, Nino?"

"Rena Rouge," his eyes darted towards his girlfriend for just a second. He was _not_ subtle.

Marinette's lips pulled up into a smirk. "I'm sensing a celebrity crush!" she teased.

"Yeah. So what?" he shrugged, but the red in his ears gave him away.

"Careful! Your _actual_ girlfriend might get jealous." Alya teased, her eyes dancing in merriment. over a smug smirk.

If anything, Nino's blush deepened.

Alya spared him, and turned her attention to Marinette. "So… Marinette, who do you think is Paris's best superhero and why?"

Marinette stared up at the ceiling. "I…"

Adrien's bag thumped onto the table and both girls' gaze snapped upwards at the sudden noise.

"Adrien! Who's the best superhero?" Alya asked without greeting.

"Ladybug," the blond responded immediately, like he didn't have to think about it at all.

Marinette rolled her eyes, even as she blushed. "So cliché," she mumbled.

"You have a different opinion, Marinette?" Alya's hazel eyes swiveled towards her, wide with expectation.

"Yeah, Ladybug would be nothing without Chat Noir," she asserted.

Adrien snorted. "Oh _please_! Half the time he gets turned against her!"

His dismissal of her partner in crime irritated her more than she expected.

"Because she's _clumsy_!" she countered. "And he has to take hits for her."

"Ladybug is _not_ clumsy!"

"She most certainly _is_!" Marinette snapped back, not remotely intimidated by his heated glare.

"You guys need to chill!" Alya interjected, eyeing them both in surprise. Her lips turned down in a slight disapproving frown.

That was objectively good advice. Marinette knew it. She could even picture Tikki, eyes wide from the bottom of her purse, her lower lip trembling, _begging_ her to listen. She should stop now while she was ahead. Her teeth clamped down on her fingernails. She shouldn't say anything.

But her kitty's honor was as stake.

She whipped out her phone and immediately pulled up the Ladyblog. From the archive, she loaded a video and shoved it in Adrien's face.

"Watch! See here! Ladybug is going to trip over _air_, and when she stumbles, Chat's _right_ there preventing disaster!"

"This doesn't count!" Adrien shoved the phone back to her before the video had even gotten to the relevant point. "This was so long ago. She's improved a lot since then."

"But so have the villains! I'm telling you, without Chat Noir, Hawkmoth would have won ages ago!"

"Absolutely no way!" the normally polite blond shouted. "Ladybug always finds a way to succeed even when backed into a corner."

The debate became less calm and civil with every word exchanged. She didn't consciously remember jumping out of her seat. But now she and Adrien were both standing close enough to share spit droplets that impassioned arguments sent flying. Her body was shaking in agitation as she stared down her opponent.

"It's Ladybug that does all the saving! She's the one that finds creative solutions, that cleanses the akuma, that repairs the damage! Chat Noir is a sidekick at _best_!" Adrien shouted.

"Sidekick?!" she repeated in rage. Marinette clenched her fists to prevent herself from attacking him. She wanted to strangle him in that moment, crush or no crush! _Sidekick_?! He didn't understand _anything_! "Chat Noir protects Ladybug so that she can do those things, he figures out her plans with only two words of explanation. Hell, he's _died_ to make sure Paris is healed!" Marinette countered hotly.

A bomb of silence exploded across the classroom with that pronouncement. A moment before she had been too absorbed in the fight to notice anyone other than Adrien, but now she could feel all the eyes on her. Her skin was crawling, but she jutted her chin out stubbornly, refusing to give any ground.

"What are you talking about, dude?" Nino broke the silence. "Chat Noir is fine. Someone saw him on Patrol last night. It was on the Ladyblog."

Horror bubbled from the pit of her stomach as she realized her mistake. She wanted to throw up.

"Y-Yeah! Chat Noir is _totally_ fine! Always has been!" she broke off into nervous laughter. "He certainly did _not_ die in Ladybug's arms during Timebreaker."

What was she _doing_?

"He didn't sacrifice himself to the Gamer or take a fatal wound from Miraculer!"

She needed to stop talking. _Right now._

"Yup!" she finished, popping the p. "Chat Noir's definitely totally and completely fine! Fine as in healthy. Mentally and physically! Not fine as in handsome. Though he definitely is that too! Objectively attractive, that is."

She dropped her face into her hands in hopes that no one could see her flaming face.

Alya was already patting her back. "It's okay girl. We get it. Why don't you come back to your seat and just calm down?"

Marinette peeked through her fingers and glanced across the classroom. Alya looked patiently amused. Chloe wasn't looking at her at all – her attention on her nails. Nino, Alix, and Mylene all gave her sweet affectionate and reassuring smiles.

She let her hands fall to her sides. It was okay. It was fine. Alya, Nino, nor Chloe seemed to react to the comment on Miraculer even though they had all been there! She tried not to be irritated. This was _good_! Her rambling comments were just dismissed. This was just Marinette being… well, Marinette!

Her eyes landed on Adrien who stood before her as still as his wax model – his emerald-green eyes were overblown and his mouth hung wide open.

"Are you okay, Adrien?" she asked him.

His jaw snapped shut and he managed to nod dumbly, before Madam Bustier entered and they all scrambled to their seats. Class progressed as normal. Well, _almost_ normal. Adrien kept twisting around in his seat to look at her. Heat pooled in her cheeks at the unexpected attention. She tried to hide behind her notebook, but each time she risked pulling her cover down, swirling green eyes over puzzled eyebrows froze her in place all over again.

"Adrien, the lesson is up here," Ms. Bustier gently reminded him.

"Uh… Yes, Ms. Bustier. Sorry, for getting distracted." His hand rubbed at the back of his neck nervously.

He didn't turn around again and Marinette rediscovered what it felt like to be able to breathe easily. Her relief was short-lived. At the end of class, Adrien whirled around to face her almost the instant _before_ the bell rang.

"Uh… Marinette?"

She attempted to make eye contact, but she couldn't hold it. Not the way he was looking at her just now. She didn't know what it meant or what he was feeling, but it was too much. "Y-Yeah?" She cursed the return of her stammer.

He glanced around the room as if to see if anyone was paying attention. But everyone was focused on stowing away their belongings and leaving for their next class.. He leaned in really close – their noses were only centimeters apart.

She forgot how to breathe again.

"Chat Noir didn't die for Paris," he whispered.

Marinette pulled away with gritted teeth, her hands balling into fists once again. She couldn't let herself back into the debate less she slip again. And she really didn't want to be mad at him. Adrien was allowed to like Ladybug! Hell, she should be _flattered_ that he liked Ladybug, but he was _wrong_ about Chat Noir!

"Chat Noir died for Ladybug," he added. His words were so calm, so serious.

All the fight within her evaporated, as she stared at him with her eyes blown wide. How would he know that?

Unless… unless…

"Chat Noir would sacrifice anything for Ladybug. She's the most important person in his life. The moments spent with her are his favorite."

Now she _really_ couldn't breathe. Her brain had turned to mush, her thoughts and feelings were total entropy, chaos – spinning too fast to grasp onto anything. But something big had just happened. She had all the pieces. They just needed to…

…_Snap together._

_No way!_

"Just like moments spent with you are some of _my_ favorite," he finished. Only his voice seemed so far away, and the world was collapsing in on her chest.

Was he smiling? How had he gotten so far away?

"Earth to Marinette!" Alya called from her left. "Why aren't you packing up your stuff?"

Marinette couldn't respond - she couldn't even turn her head away from the blond boy in front of her.

"_Adrien!_ What did you do to my girl?! I think she's broken."

He laughed. Like _genuinely_ laughed. Not the polite sweet laugh she associated with Adrien. It was a full belly roll. It was Chat's laugh. He looked at her again with a small smile.

She wanted to return the gesture. But her mind was catching up to her and she still couldn't breathe! She had pushed _Adrien_ off a building. She had refused _Adrien's_ confessions. She had kissed _Adrien_!

His smile evaporated, and just like that he was at her side again.

"Are you disappointed?"

She shook her head rapidly.

"Are you panicking?" he guessed.

And then she nodded.

He offered his hand. She clung to it like it was a life line.

"It's okay my lady," he whispered. "I'm right here."

She focused on his voice, suddenly more familiar than she had _ever_ realized. Her eyes drank in the curve of his jawline and the upturn of his lips. The feel of his hand in her own – his _ungloved_ bare hand – his smooth flawless model skin against her calluses caused by years of poking herself with needles. This was _Chat Noir_ without his gloves on. His overshirt was white. She giggled hysterically. Chat Noir was wearing _white_! She pressed her nose to his shirt and breathed in, only to be greeted with the faint scent of camembert. That was for Plagg, she realized. This was her _partner_. The man she trusted with her life.

She could breathe again. She felt more grounded in that moment than she had in _years_.

"It's you," she whispered.

His smile rivaled the sun in its brightness. "At your service, princess."

Tears sprang from her eyes like water released from a dam. She launched her arms around him. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed through delighted giggles. "It's _you_!"

"You already said that," he commented softly.

She flicked him at the throat where his bell would have been before seizing him in another hug, delighting in how well his form fit against her own despite their differences in height.

"So, you understand now?" she finally asked, pulling back so she could better see his face. Their hands remained joined. When had they started holding hands?

"Understand what?" Adrien repeated, his green eyes glowing like star light as he drank in the sight of her.

"That Ladybug is nothing without Chat Noir," she finished in a whisper.

"Not a chance!" Adrien exclaimed, barking out another genuine laugh - a Chat Noir laugh. That was his _true_ laugh.

"I stand by everything that I said more than ever, Nette!" he said, his thumb caressed the back of hers.

She blushed at the new nickname, recognizing it as an abbreviation of Buginette and Marinette both.

"But!" she tried to interject.

He pulled her into another hug. "But I'm sure Chat Noir appreciates that he is needed."

"He had better!" Marinette growled, even as she let herself melt into his arms.

"What is happening right now?" Alya interjected from behind her phone. She was clearly taking pictures, or maybe, recording a video. "Explain. Now."

Adrien and Marinette both glanced at Alya, then shared a look with each other, before turning back to Alya.

"No," they both said simultaneously. Marinette let Adrien lead her gently the classroom hand in hand.

"Nino! What just happened?" Alya exclaimed behind them.

"No idea babe, but I think your ship might be sailing?"

"Maybe _both_ of them," Marinette whispered, letting her head fall onto her partner's arm, no longer feeling remotely nervous around him.

…

A/N: I learned literally about the "5 things" exercise for calming yourself during a panic attack from reading fan fiction! Once I encountered it twice, I went and looked it up. Anyway, I didn't explicitly state that it was there in this, but the moment when she took Adrien's hand and started noticing all the sensory details was inspired by this concept. The idea is making yourself identify five things you can see, four things you can touch, etc. is making you focus on sensory things to bring you back to the here and now. And be less wrapped up in your spiraling thoughts. I haven't had a panic attack since I learned about this technique, but should one strike (and I remember) I will try this out.

Fun fact: Did you know that blond/e is an adjective that has a masculine and feminine form in English?! It's because we borrowed the word from French. Blond is for males and Blonde for females. In english, they are pronounced the same! 

More reveals to be added, but updates will likely be slow. That being said, feel free to send me prompts for more here, or on Tumblr. My name is Kasienda there too.

Reviews are love!


	2. Stutters

A/N: This one has been almost complete for a lot of weeks now, but in light of the fact that my school closed due to corona virus this week, it felt like the right time to polish it up. You'll see why. I promise this is all fluff. Something happy to consume while we all practice our "social distancing".

Not beta'ed. Please forgive typos.

Premise: When Marinette suddenly starts mixing up her words around Chat Noir, he concludes that she's figured out his identity and promptly freaks out. Marichat fluff.

…

Adrien could not stay focused. His skin itched in agitation and he kept fidgeting in his seat, glancing backwards forlornly at the vacant desk behind him. He tried again and again to find a comfortable position or at least force himself to follow the text Ms. Bustier was reading aloud, but it was a lost cause.

Marinette was still absent. This was the third day.

He missed her. Class wasn't the same without her soft whispers to Alya behind him or her tendency to make word salad whenever he looked in her direction. Her presence made him smile. Made him feel warm. Made him feel safe.

And clearly he couldn't function properly while filled up to the brim with anxious worry.

He had asked Alya about Marinette twice in the last two days. The first day she had shrugged, as mystified as him. On the second day, she had smirked, her honey brown eyes twinkling in amusement.

"If you're so worried, Sunshine, you should text her yourself."

He had blushed and turned back around, determined to get his chemistry work done. He fought with his brain for an hour and then his worry overcame his embarrassment, and he had texted.

She had never responded.

He had planned to ask Alya again before class, but she had arrived uncharacteristically late. He hoped that meant she had checked in on Marinette.

He turned to Alya the second the bell signaled the end of class. "Have you heard from Marinette yet?"

Alya winced. "She's really sick apparently. She caught the flu that's been going around. She can't get out of bed without hurling. Sabine warned me to stay away for my own protection."

Adrien sighed. First, Ladybug had asked him to take over her patrols because she was ill, and now, Marinette hadn't made it to class the whole week! This flu was beyond cruel in its choice of victims. Adrien could not think of two people less deserving of the sickness's wrath.

He knew he had no way of visiting Ladybug, but perhaps he could swing by Marinette's.

He shook his head at himself. Sabine was probably right. It was better to stay away. With Ladybug out of commission, he couldn't afford to get sick himself. Hawkmoth might have been quiet the last few days, but he couldn't count on that to last. And he had to be prepared to fight alone.

That conclusion was easy to reach. It was rational and pragmatic. It's what Ladybug would have advised him to do, but when his normal patrol route brought him just two rooftops away from Marinette's balcony, he could resist peeking in on her.

Her form lay curled up in the fetal position surrounded by a nest of pillows and blankets. She was asleep, but even unconscious her looked pale and waxy. He pulled back from the little round window feeling guilty for invading her privacy and witnessing her in this moment of weakness. He wished he could do something to help her feel better.

He was about to vault away when his eyes landed on the terrace garden filled with potted plants. The normally vibrant green leaves were drooping down as if they, too, were mourning the lack of Marinette's presence in their daily life. Upon closer inspection, Chat Noir discovered crumbly and dry soil in each pot. He knew almost nothing about taking care of plants. Gardening was something his father would hire someone for. But the heir to the Agreste fortune did at least know they needed water.

He clapped his hands together with a grin. This was something he could do.

It didn't take long to find her watering can and fill it up at the nozzle located on the lowest part of the wall in the balcony's corner. He added small amounts of water to each clay pot, only then noticing that each home was carefully hand painted with flowers and vines or little hearts and stars. His favorite pot showed off little black kittens chasing flying ladybugs.

Marinette really was amazingly talented.

She also tended to a huge variety of plant life. She had herbs, vines, grass-like stalks, and he knew from experience that there should have been flowering buds, but they were sealed tightly closed refusing to flaunt their bright colors for all the birds and bugs to see. He knew that gardening was difficult and that each plant probably needed something slightly different.

He glanced back through Marinette's round window, to her very still roll on the bed. He had never seen her so still. Who knew when she would be able to make it out here again.

After he was finished watering, he cut his patrol short and headed straight home. Chat Noir had research to do.

It turned out that potted plants needed fertilizer or some kind of plant food to reintroduce nutrients into their soil. But different varieties needed it with varying amounts and frequencies. He didn't know all the plants Marinette had, but he supposed the next day he would have to take pictures of each one and come home to identify them so he would be able to find more specific care instructions.

It did seem that most plants did well with water in the morning and/or evening because in the middle of the day the wet leaves could fry in the hottest part of the day. And apparently, over watering was a danger as well.

And some plants needed regular pruning.

He glanced through his schedule. If he got up an hour earlier than Nathalie's scheduled wake up call, he would have time to take pictures of and water all of Marinette's plants and be back in his room with ten minutes to spare.

Then, he could spend all of his free period with the pictures identifying what they were and put specific care instructions for each one in a document that he could send to his staff and refer to whenever he needed to.

Quickly stopping by Marinette's as Chat Noir in the morning and evening had quickly become part of his routine. His secret gardening consoled some restless part of his soul. He was able to peek in on her _and_ feel like he was helping in some small way.

He could even focus in class again. In fact, he had to be insanely efficient with his time in order to complete his homework, fill his modeling obligations, go on a daily patrol, and stop by his favorite balcony. Somehow, he pulled it all off smoothly each and every day, and the twice daily stops were quickly becoming his favorite parts of the day.

It was peaceful and colorful now that the flowers were willing to show their petals again. He had long since stopped feeling self conscious amongst the plants. He talked and sang to them. His research had said that also would help them.

Really he shouldn't have been surprised when she caught him on the fourth day.

"Kitty? What are you doing out there?"

Startled at her sudden presence, he dropped the cap full of miracle grow onto the ground with a curse. The green liquid spread out across the deck, seeping into the panels of stained wood. He looked around rapidly for some kind of towel to soak it up. He knew the stuff was toxic to many birds and he wouldn't want them to get sick because of his carelessness.

"Uh, hey there, princess!" He greeted distractedly as he mopped up his spill. "Are you feeling better?"

He glanced up at her then and smiled. Her eyes shined with their usual vibrant blue, and she had just a hint of color in her cheeks. In short, she looked healthy again, and he could not be more relieved.

"Loads," she answered with a friendly smile. "I might even be able to make it back to school on Monday. Were you watering my plants?"

His gloved hand flew unconsciously to the back of his neck. "Uh yeah. Watering." He pointed to the plant he had just given the plant food. "And the Internet said that this one needed fertilizer every other day and yesterday, I pruned this one because it was looking crowded. I hope you don't mind. I heard you were sick and when I was passing by on patrol I noticed the plants were looking a little dry. And I thought it would be such a shame if your garden took a hit just because you were ill. I know you love it up here."

He eyed her warily trying to gauge her reaction. She wouldn't feel irritated at him invading her space, would she? His form loosened in relief when she only smiled again.

"That was really thoughtful Chat Noir," she said, as she took a seat on one of the balcony's chairs. "Thank you. I didn't realIze you gardened."

Heat rose to his face. "I don't really. Never done it before this week actually."

"But then, how did you know about the pruning and the fertilizer?"

"I… uh. I kinda looked it up?" he admitted, jumping into the seat behind her to hide his embarrassment. "I really just looked up how much water to give, but then it gave different directions for different plants, so I had to come back and take pictures of each one, so I could look up directions for each one."

"Y-you t-took the time to identify each plant?!" she repeated, her eyes blown wide, staring at him in surprise.

"Well, I didn't want to do it wrong and then ruin the garden I was trying to save for you," he said.

"Th-that's… you… that was so yind of kew. I mean! Kind! I meant kind of y-you. Y-you definitely didn't h-have t-to do that."

The teenaged hero frowned at her stutter. She only stuttered around Adrien.

"You okay princess? Maybe you should go lie back down."

"Y-yeah, you're nice… I mean, right. You're right. I should back lie… I mean lie back down."

Chat hovered behind her ready to catch her should she stumble or fall. Watching her go down the ladder was the worst, but she made it without the slightest sway and cooperatively climbed back into her bed. He brought up the blankets to cover her and she gathered them in a cocoon around her.

"W-will you come back tomorrow?" she asked with pleading eyes. "J-just time one… one time."

"Anything for you, princess." He winked as he leapt agilely up the ladder and back into the balcony.

He bounded away towards home, trying to puzzle out her new behavior. Had he done something to offend her? Perhaps she thought it was creepy that he was right outside her bedroom window every day, twice a day. He really hadn't thought this through at all.

He tried to ease the anxious mental spiral. He was probably overthinking this. She was sick after all. That was probably why she was stuttering.

He came back the next morning, and she had croissants fresh from the oven and steaming tea ready for him. She had already taken care of the plants. He tried not to be disappointed by this fact. He had enjoyed tending to the delicate life forms. It was nice to work at creating something for a change.

"These are amazing," he gushed, after taking his first bite. Really the buttery confections never got old, especially when he was hardly allowed simple carbs. "My compliments to the baker! You really didn't have to feed me though you know."

"I w-wanted to say thank you," she stammered, her face blushing in red.

"You look so much better with color in your cheeks," he told her thoughtlessly. But he really had been worried about her.

Her eyes turned away as her cheeks somehow became even redder. "I r-really meel fuch better!" She managed. "Much better! Gah!" her face fell into her hands in embarrassment.

This was way too familiar. This was how she acted around Adrien all the time. His mind spiraled into the worst possible explanation and he felt the blood drain from his face. He dropped the croissant, that was now forgotten in his lap.

"How did you figure it out?" he made himself ask.

"F-figure what?"

He leaned forward and took her hands in his own. "You can't tell anyone," he beseeched. "_Please,_ Marinette." He pulled back again, and dragged his hands through his hair. "God, Ladybug's going to kill me."

"Chat calm down," Marinette urged, her delicate fingers rested hesitantly on his shoulder trying to reassure him. "It's okay. I would never tell anyone anything if you don't want me to."

His eyes flew back to hers and he felt a bit calmer in her gentle blue gaze. Marinette was trustworthy. He knew that better than anyone. "I hope you're not mad at me."

"W-why would I be mad?"

"Sometimes it just seemed so two faced to come here as Chat because you treated me so differently as Adrien."

She stumbled backwards and fell over the chair. He rushed over to her and helped her up.

"W-what?!" Her scream was shrill. "You're Adrien?!"

Once they were both standing steadily she hit his arm. Hard.

"You stupid cat! Why would you tell me that?!" Her stutter had vanished, he noted. And she was angry. Very angry.

The air rushed out of his lungs and he blinked at her as her words registered. "I thought you knew?"

Now, Ladybug was _really_ going to kill him. It was bad enough when he thought that Marinette had him figured out, but she hadn't. He had just blurted it out like an idiot.

"Based on _what?_" she demanded.

"You've always been awkward around me as Adrien. But you're so sassy and confident around everyone else. Even Chat Noir! Maybe _especially_ Chat Noir. But when you started mixing up your words around Chat the same way you do sometimes around Adrien, I figured that you had me pegged."

She looked like she had been hit by a train. She just stared at him.

"You literally only treat Adrien that way," he added, mostly to break the silence.

"That's not... I don't..." she spluttered.

"If you hadn't figured it out, why did you start treating Chat Noir differently?" he asked. "You don't like him either? Has he done something wrong?"

"You think that I don't like you?" she whispered. Her voice sounded so small, so far away.

He winced. "I mean, not exactly! You just seem so nervous a lot of the time. Am I that frightening or intimidating?" He was started to panic down another spiral. That he realized it didn't help him at all.

…

Marinette could see that he was freaking out. Adrien was standing there in front of her, only he was Chat Noir. And she wanted to process that. She _needed_ to. But she couldn't. He was hurt. And_ she_ had put that hurt there.

Before anything else, she had to fix that.

Marinette took a breath, stepped forward, and gently enclosed his clawed hand into her own, trying to communicate what she's never been able to put into words.

His green eyes swivelled back to her, swimming in confusion, begging her to explain. Because he still didn't understand.

"I... I..." she stammered. She inwardly cursed her inability to communicate with him.

This time, _he_ squeezed her hand. And she drew courage from that. This wasn't just Adrien. This was Chat Noir, and yes, she had just figured out that she loved him as his superhero self and that made her nervous. But he was her partner. She trusted him more than anyone else on the whole planet. He had proven time again that he would protect her life. Maybe it was time to let him protect her heart as well.

And however this is going to go, he would be gentle with her.

"Adrien has made me nervous for a long time," she admitted staring down into their clasped hands. Somehow it was easier talking about him in third person even though she knew she was talking to him. "It's not because he's scary or famous or that I don't like him... quite the opposite in fact..."

She glanced up, the green sclera opened beseechingly. He waited with so much patience.

"I've always stuttered or mixed up my words around Adrien because... I was..." she licked her lips, fidgeted from one foot to the other, and glanced up at his face again. "...in love with him." She rushed the words out. Part of her felt more anxious than ever. But she also felt lighter, freer.

"I always behave that way around boys that I like..." she admitted, and looked down again as heat bloomed in her face and neck.

She glanced up again. Chat... no, Adrien looked like he had swallowed a melon whole. His eyes were wide, his grip on her hands tightened, and she was no longer certain he was even breathing.

"Please say something," she begged, wringing her hand even though he still held it.

"You... you love Adrien?" He whispered.

"That's what I said."

"And-and you started mixing up your words around Chat because... you like him too?"

She nodded, her cheeks burned hotter than before.

"You fell for both of me?" It was like he couldn't believe it.

And then, his eyes watered.

"Please don't cry kitty," she begged, wiping a fallen tear from his black mask. She had never seen him cry before in either persona. She didn't know what to do.

He pulled her into a hard hug, his arms swept around her and he pressed her form into the hard leather of his catsuit. Soon, he was balling into her shoulder.

Marinette let herself melt into his embrace, tracing soothing patterns onto his back. She was still unsure how he felt about her confession, but she was determined to be there for him.

He finally quieted, and with one last comforting squeeze, he pulled away. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe I'm crying. I'm so embarrassed."

"It's okay," she soothed.

"You're just so amazing, Marinette. I don't know that I could ever deserve you. I don't know what someone like you could ever see in someone like me. And that you do see something in both sides of me, that means a lot to me. You are so kind. You have no idea how much I admire you!"

Marinette felt like she might break from the growing tension - like a violin string pulled too tight - ready to snap. Listening to him gush was amazing, but she still couldn't tell if he was letting her down easy or preparing for their wedding.

The silence grew and Marinette couldn't take it.

"So... does that mean?" she prompted.

"Would you like to go on a date?" he blurted.

And just like that, the tension eased as if it had never been. And she started giggling.

"I would love that kitty. What did you have in mind?"

"Umm... is it okay if it's a surprise?"

She rolled her eyes. "Sure, but don't go too crazy A-Adrien."

"You called me Adrien," he said gleefully.

"I-I did."

"Plagg, claws in."

And there he was standing in front of her, his white overshirt over his usual black t-shirt. His face bare and without a mask was as familiar as her partner's. Her nerves exploded again, and she couldn't speak.

"You still okay?" He asked with a small smile that spoke with the gentleness of a butterfly's wing.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. He glanced at her lips. "M-may I kiss you?"

She nodded and just before their lips touched, her eyes landed on Plagg. Who floated ominously over Adrien's shoulder with a cold glower directed right at her. And she understood. This was unfair.

She stopped him with a hand to the chest. "No wait!"

"Something wrong princess?"

She closed her eyes, and drew in a deep breath. Apparently, the call for bravery was not over.

"Before you kiss me," she began, drawing comfort from the hand that remained on his chest. "Before you agree to date me or be my b-boyfriend." Could it be any hotter up here?! "I h-have to tell you something."

He pulled back and waited. But she didn't speak. "Whatever it is, I'm sure that..."

"Please, let me say this," she begged. "You need to know! Plus, Plagg may cataclysm me in my sleep if I don't come clean."

"Plagg?" Adrien repeated in confusion, turning towards the floating Kwami of destruction. "How do you know Plagg?"

She sighed. "We've met. A few times actually. He uh... he helped me defeat Style Queen when you lost…" she trailed off. Adrien had been Style Queen's first victim. Of course, Chat Noir hadn't been so irresponsible as to lose his miraculous. "No, when you had turned into a statue. And during Sandboy we collaborated a plan together."

"Plagg helped... you." He repeated slowly. He licked his lips. "He helped _you_... defeat Style Queen."

He was staring at her in shock and for once she held his gaze. She had to.

"M'Lady?"

She nodded.

"Really?!" He was grinning like a cat who had fallen into a vat of cream. He picked her up by the waist and twirled her around. "This is perfect!" He laughed, his mirth spilling over into the very air around them.

"It is?" she asked, not quite sharing in his joy. "You're not mad at all those times I rejected you for... well, you?"

"Marinette, I did the same thing to you when you confessed to me as Chat Noir."

"I mean, it's not the same thing! I confessed under false pretenses. You're not mad about that either?"

"Wait! False pretenses?" He froze and considered her for a moment. She tried not to fidget in his green eyed gaze as he put the pieces together. "I almost stumbled onto your identity that day… you didn't love me."

"I mean, I wouldn't admit it, no."

"You did it to distract me."

"Yeah…"

He looked away, lost in the memory. "I was _so_ excited that day. That was the first time I had received a genuine confession."

"A-are you mad?" she asked, anxiously pulling at her sleeve's hem.

He just grinned and shook his head. "I might have been at some point. Now, it seems kinda funny."

He broke into giggles and she did too.

"Too bad you didn't figure it out," she managed between giggles. "Maybe we could have saved ourselves months of chasing each other's tails."

"Goodness, we are so stupid," he drawled out.

"Blind," she corrected with a soft smile.

"What?"

"You were never stupid. Tikki says love is blind."

TIkki flew out at that exact moment. "Hello Adrien, it's nice to see you again under better circumstances."

He smiled at the red kwami. "Likewise," he agreed, with a small nod. Then he turned back to Marinette.

"So... can I kiss you now? We have Kwami approval?" Tikki looked pleased and Plagg shrugged as if to say "if you must".

"M'lady?"

She nodded.

His lips pressed into hers. And it wasn't how kisses were in stories. There were no fireworks. She didn't feel like her feet left the floor. If anything, it was awkward because neither of them could stop smiling long enough to really let their lips melt into the other.

But that was okay. They now had all the time in the world to practice.

Marinette jerked away. "You shouldn't be kissing me actually."

"What?" He went rigid in her arms, clearly worried he had done something wrong.

"I don't want you to get sick," she observed worriedly.

He relaxed his forehead against hers and smiled again. "I don't care about that."

"You say that now. This bug knocked me out for a solid week and I'm still shaky."

Adrien did get sick two days later. Ladybug brought him broth. She knew from experience that he wouldn't be able to hold anything else down and even the broth was a toss-up.

"I feel awful," he complained to her.

"I told you," the heroine quipped without sympathy even as she nestled down next to him in bed.

He just leaned into her presence, his eyes remained closed. "It was worth it," he told her. "I have no regrets. If I die from this, I will die happy."

"No!" She barked in objection. "You have to live forever!"

He laughed weakly and then started coughing instead. When the coughing finally subsided, he threaded his fingers through hers. "I promise I will, Buginette. _That_, or I will die trying."

She nuzzled against him, and released her transformation. She couldn't ask for better than that.

"See that you do, kitty. See that you do."

He started purring, and they both promptly fell asleep. Marinette still hadn't entirely recovered from her own illness afterall, and the worst had yet to hit Adrien. But they would weather it together.

…

Hope you enjoyed! Please stay healthy!

Reviews are love!


	3. Instagram

A/N: MissNoodles is the brain behind this operation. She came up with the premise and the conclusion, and I was just the one who executed bringing this little story to life because she TOLD me that she doesn't write! Of course, now she HAS written something, so you're all obligated to go check out her wonderful little Adrinette one shot. (It's on Ao3).

I also want to give a special thank you to Sagansjagger for beta-ing this so quickly and at the last minute, and allowing me to think my ideas and plot arcs out loud with her!

This reveal is based on a picture from the official Adrien Agreste Instagram account. You will have to find it yourself as this site won't let me post any links. And I stand by the fact that it's not a very good picture of him.

…

Marinette stared unhappily at the photo on her computer screen. Part of her thought she should be overjoyed at the revelation before her, but in the moment, she only felt frustrated. What was that stupid cat thinking?! Could he be any more obvious? If she didn't know better, she'd think he did it on purpose.

"Marinette?" Tikki's familiar voice called. "What's wrong?"

The dark-haired girl sighed, and then gestured halfheartedly to the picture on her instagram feed. "Do you think I should be more mad at Adrien for uploading this picture? Or at Plagg for being difficult in the first place?"

Tikki looked at the picture of Adrien sitting at his desk leaning forward to the camera with light from tall panes of glass windows lighting up his hair in a golden glow. As someone who collected all things Adrien, the picture honestly wasn't the best Marinette had ever seen. His face looked washed out, and he had bags under his eyes. He just looked tired, and she couldn't help but worry about him. Especially now that she understood that his plate of responsibilities was larger than she had ever imagined. The image was further spoiled by a random plain white sock floating upright in the air behind him. It was so stiff it could have been hanging from a clothesline.

Marinette observed Tikki carefully as the kwami considered the picture, watching for any reaction. At times, her kwami was amazingly expressive, but Marinette had come to learn the embodiment of creation could pull off quite the poker face when the need arose.

"I don't see Plagg," the red sprite finally concluded, her eyes furrowed together in seeming confusion.

"Really?!" Marinette scoffed. "_That's_ what you're going with? I already know that kwamis don't show up on camera, Tikki. What else could that be?"

"Photoshop?" TIkki suggested lightly.

Marinette rolled her eyes.

"Maybe Adrien threw the sock backwards when he took the picture," her kwami said.

Marinette crossed her arms over her chest, not remotely convinced by Tikki's attempts to dissuade her. "It'd be blurry, Tikki."

"Not if it was at the height of its arc."

"It wouldn't be at this angle," Marinette argued, pointing at the artifact. She didn't like physics, but she couldn't help pick up on some things being a superhero fighting akumas over the rooftops of Paris. "This is like it's hanging upright. If it was flying through the air it would be bent and floppy."

Tikki sighed, her mouth opening in search of another argument, but no words left her lips.

"You know who else might know that kwamis can't be photographed?" Marinette asked rhetorically, and then answered the question herself. "_Papillion_."

"Yeah, Adrien needs to delete that photo," Tikki agreed.

Marinette laughed at Tikki's sudden change in tune. "Oh, you think so?"

Tikki didn't bother to respond to the "I told you so," and Marinette found herself looking at the picture. His eyes were actually green. After her stint as Lady Noire, Marinette hadn't been certain that her partner's eyes were that vibrant shade of fresh spring grass. But they were, and for whatever reason that little detail made her feel like she knew him.

And of course, she _did_ know him. He was _Adrien_. But now… She couldn't help the giddy little smile that burst over her face as the reality of Chat Noir's identity really sunk in, and she loved him even more.

"I'm glad that you're happy," Tikki observed softly. "That it's him."

Marinette twirled around in her chair towards her kwami. "Yeah, me too," she admitted with a blush. "But goodness, he makes things so _difficult_ sometimes! Why doesn't he think things through?!"

"Let's go yell at him!" Tikki encouraged, executing an excited dance in the air.

Marinette laughed. "Alright, then! Tikki, Spots On!"

…

Adrien lay back on his bed, one arm behind his neck supporting his head, and the other hand holding his phone up in front of his face, watching the likes and comments come in from his latest Instagram post. He didn't really know why he always watched the reactions come in live. The constant notifications and attention from people he had never met had lost its joy and appeal ages ago, and yet, he still couldn't help but check the recent post every few seconds anyway.

And this post was special. He had an ulterior motive.

"Do you think she'll figure it out, Plagg?" Adrien asked, daydreaming of a certain Ladybug darting through his window.

"I'd say that's a pretty good bet!" the mischievous cat like kwami said, snapping the t before phasing out of sight.

Adrien dropped the phone and looked up. "What makes you say…"

Ladybug stood in his window frame. Her blue eyes narrowed as they landed on him, and he wanted to hide from her obvious displeasure.

"...that?" he trailed off. He leapt from his prone position on the bed, and slid forward, allowing his legs to hang over the mattress as he sat smiling at his mostly unexpected guest.

"Hi, Ladybug! What brings you here?" Adrien greeted brightly as if it was totally and completely normal to have a superhero standing in his open window. Which, if he counted himself, it kinda was…?

Her glare turned frostier, even as she jumped gracefully from the window sill to the marble floor. "Don't play dumb, Chaton. It doesn't suit you. Delete it now!"

"Delete what?" Despite her command, he figured it was in the interest of his survival to pretend he had no idea what she was talking about.

"The photo that you just posted to Instagram!" she growled.

He grinned. Ladybug had arrived within thirty _minutes_ of him posting the photo. "So, you follow my Instagram?"

To his shock, pink flushed across her face. "That's s-so not the point!" she spluttered.

His grin widened. "I always told you, you'd find my unmasked face irresistible."

Her eyes hardened. "You need to delete that photo now, Adrien!" she barked harshly. "If I could figure it out, _Papillion_ _and Mayura_ can too!"

His grin evaporated in an instant. _Shit!_ He hadn't thought about that. He darted back to his phone that lay abandoned on his bed, rapidly unlocked it, and then swiped and tapped his way through the app. "It's done," he reported, all his bravado gone. "I'm sorry. I didn't think."

His partner's form slumped in relief and she let out a frustrated sigh. Her resigned exasperation with just that dash of disappointment cut deeper than anything she had actually said. He had been needlessly reckless and for selfish reasons. It seemed so obvious now.

"It's probably not gone, though," he admitted softly. "I have crazy fans that screen cap everything. And repost stuff. I can't control any of that."

"It was only up for like half an hour. I can't imagine it got too far or that most people will understand its significance. And it's not the most flattering photo of you honestly, so hopefully less people felt the need to save it." She flicked a piece of lint off her shoulder, not making eye contact. "How many likes did it have?"

"Around five thousand," he reported.

"Five _thousand?_" she repeated in disbelief, her bright blue eyes as wide as the Seine. "I don't think I could get that many likes in a year! God damn celebrities!"

"Ladybug could," he told her confidently. "If she had an Instagram."

"I'm not getting an Instagram as Ladybug!" she countered hotly.

"Why not?" he asked with genuine curiosity. "I imagine you could post some beautiful pictures of the city."

"Because of stuff like floating socks!" she snapped back. She started pacing in front of his window in agitation. "I might not catch something in the background, and then I would give away my whole identity! I'm not willing to put my friends and family in danger for _likes!_" she lashed out at him.

His shoulders wilted. She was right. His father had a lot of resources and could probably protect himself even from a supervillain. Maybe Kagami too. But what about Nino, Alya, and Marinette?

"I-it wasn't for likes," he whispered, but the objection felt weak even to his own ears. He had only wanted _one_ person to see it. _Her_. He just wanted her in his life. His _actual_ life. Was that so bad? But his plan had worked better than he thought possible. She had figured out his identity. And that meant…

Knots formed in Adrien's stomach as the implications sunk in. "You're right. I didn't think. Are-are you going to take my miraculous, now?" He wasn't brave enough to look at her face. He hadn't thought about the consequences at all. He hadn't thought about the fact that other people, including his enemies, might recognize the properties of a kwami. Didn't think about the fact that he didn't know how to survive without the freedom of Chat Noir. No, he had only been thinking that Ladybug would understand the significance of the photo and if she "accidentally" figured out his identity, then she couldn't be mad at him for telling her. He had only wanted her to see him and understand him. She was his partner. His other half.

He risked a glance up at her continued silence. She looked like she had been hit by a bus at the question. Her eyes were blown wide and her mouth hung open, and she still didn't say anything.

"That's the consequence, right?" he prompted when she didn't respond. "Someone figures out my identity, I have to give up my miraculous?" He shrugged, trying to hold up a strong front. "That's what Plagg said a few weeks back anyway."

He slipped off the ring and held it out to her, his eyes burning with threatened tears.

Her gloved hands reached out, and he clamped his teeth down on the sob that wanted to tear out of his throat. Her gloved hands, which felt strange touching his bare skin, carefully closed his fingers around the cold metal circle and pushed it back towards him. He looked up at her in surprise. Her eyes glistened with her own unshed tears.

"Maybe I should take it. That was Master Fu's rule, but Chaton…" she whispered, and then rapidly shook her head with her teeth pressed down into her lower lip. "I can't do this without a partner."

"You could find a new partner. One who is more worthy of your trust."

She scoffed. "I can't just _find_ another partner! They don't fall from the sky. And _yes!_ I'm not going to lie! You drive me absolutely crazy sometimes! With the flirting and your stupid puns while I'm trying to figure out how to use a lucky charm! When you wouldn't take no for an answer after asking me out for like the third time. When you fell for fake Ladybug just because you wanted me to love you even though it was so obvious she wasn't real. And oh my god, you accepted Sass when you were already Chat Noir! Ugh!"

His shoulders slumped, and his eyes burned with unshed tears. When she laid it all out like that… maybe she needed to find a new partner. Someone who understood the responsibilities his power brought him, and would respect her boundaries, hopefully better than he had.

She dropped to her knees in front of him, and her red gloved hands gently took his own, and squeezed reassurance. She tilted her head down to catch his fallen gaze. And she smiled softly at him.

"But Chaton, you're _also_ the person who can figure out my crazy plans with almost no explanation, the person who has taken hit after hit for me. I've literally watched you die in my arms, more times than I prefer to think about. I have the nightmares to prove it. You talk me up and encourage me when it feels impossible to succeed."

She gripped his hands harder. _"Hell!_ I would have quit being Ladybug on the first day, if it wasn't for you. I don't know how to tell you this, but I _need_ you. No one else can even come close to replacing you. Not even if I trained them to fight because you do more than watch my back. You just know how to lift me up when my world has fallen apart."

Hot tears slipped past his defenses as her words settled into his being, planting soft seeds of warmth.

"Please don't cry," she begged.

He wiped his tears away furiously. "Thank you, LB. it feels really good to hear you say all that. Sometimes, I'm not sure where I stand with you. Some days I feel like your best friend, and other days, that annoying weird kid you wish you never had met."

"Chaton," she crooned. "I care about you _so_ much. I promise I have never _once_ wished that I hadn't met you. You have become a huge part of my life!"

"You too, LB! You're the best thing in mine."

She blushed and fidgeted. It was actually weird to see her as anything other than confident and focused. Her nervousness relaxed him, made him remember she was just a teenager like him.

"I love you," he blurted into the growing silence. "You make me feel like I have value and a purpose. Like I've done something good, and that I've done it well. I don't feel like that very often. And I know I've said it before, and I'm not expecting anything, but I just… I wanted to say it just once… as myself."

"You love _me_," she repeated, her form rigid as she stared at him with wide eyes as if she couldn't believe it.

He laughed. "Yes! Why do you sound so surprised? I've only told you _three_ times before!"

"But that was Chat Noir. Adrien told his friends he was in love with someone but he didn't give a name. _I'm_ the person _Adrien_ is in love with."

He placed a hand absently to his neck. "It's not like I could tell my friends your name. It'd be dismissed as a celebrity crush."

Then her comment registered and his green eyes shot up to her masked ones. "Wait! How do _you_ know that I told my friends that?"

She glanced toward the window, and took a step back. "Uh… well, you see…" she stuttered. And that was _weird_. He'd never seen Ladybug so nervous, and yet, her body language tickled his memory with its familiarity.

"Do I… do I _know _you in my civilian life?"

Ladybug bolted to her feet. "Well, this has been fun," she said rapidly, a nervous smile stretching across her face. "I need to get going now. Remember to be more careful with your social media accounts. See you at patrol tomorrow, Chaton!"

He darted in front of her before she could launch her yo-yo out his window, his mind awhirl. He had only told three people that he was in love with someone. Nino, Marinette, and Kagami.

None of them seemed likely to share that information with anyone else.

And Ladybug definitely wasn't Nino.

He had seen Ladybug with both Marinette and Kagami. But… his lady was clever. She might have tricked him. And of those two, only one of them made sense.

"Marinette?"

Her face fell into her hands. "Tikki's going to kill me."

Warmth burst in his chest like a firework going off. Adrien felt like he was floating above the ground. He was just that elated. He knew Ladybug's identity. And the girl behind the mask? She was _amazing!_ And she was already his friend.

He stepped forward and seized her in a hug. "It's you!" he laughed, giddiness spilling from every fiber of his being.

She didn't reciprocate. Instead, she remained frozen in his embrace - awkwardly patting his shoulder. He immediately let her go and backed away with an arm to the back of his neck as his nerves caught up with him.

"Sorry," he muttered, heat blooming in his face. "I am so excited to know that you are Marinette, I… I got carried away."

"H-how can you be s-sure that I'm Marinette?" she asked, pink spreading from her mask to her ears.

He smiled fondly at the suddenly _very_ familiar stutter. "You know I can see the resemblance now, right? It's really obvious. Plus, who else could live up to Ladybug, but Marinette?"

She fidgeted and turned away from his gaze. "Y-you can't tell anyone."

He rolled his eyes and took another step towards her. "I know how the superhero schtick goes."

She crossed her arms across her chest and glared at him. "_Really?_ Have you already forgotten why I came to visit you today?" And here she was all Ladybug righteous fury.

He blushed. "I only did that because I wanted _you_ to know who I was. No one else. And trust me to guard your secret better than my own. I know you have a family to protect."

"You say that like you don't," she observed with a frown.

He shrugged. "I mean, I guess I have my father. But I hardly ever see him. So does it count?"

Adrien immediately regretted saying that as an awkward silence descended upon them. A silence that he had no clue how to fill.

"I'm sorry, Adrien," she finally whispered, and then she took a step forward and her spotted arms encircled around him.

"What for?" he asked in surprise. He stood frozen uncertain and amazed at this turn of events, before he let his arms wrap around her petite form and his chin rest on her shoulder.

"I just… I don't think I ever understood why having a connection with me as Ladybug was so important to you," she whispered in his ear. "I didn't realize that it would be just as difficult to make friends in your civilian form as it would be as Chat Noir."

He pulled back a little, but just enough to take her hand and bring it to his lips. He kissed her knuckles as he always did. But unlike usual, she didn't pull away or rebuff him. In fact, her cheeks blazed red the way Marinette's often did in Adrien's presence.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"F-fine," she stammered, snatching her hand out of his hold like she had been burned.

"You just... usually pull away sooner. And your face is all red," he pointed out, gesturing to her cheeks with his free hand.

She punched him in the shoulder. And it hurt more than he was willing to admit. He wasn't transformed at the moment, but he tried to play it off.

"You don't have to be a jerk about it!" she admonished him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowed in genuine confusion.

"You're making fun of me," she whined.

"I swear that I'm not."

"Then why do you keep teasing me about being embarrassed?" she shot back.

"I… you're _embarrassed_?" he asked. "What on _earth_ would you have to be embarrassed about? You're _amazing!_"

"You know who I am! You can remember every time I've put my foot in my mouth or embarrassed myself horribly in front of you with every attempted confession," she spoke rapidly, her hands waving around wildly. And he found himself smiling softly. This behavior was _all_ Marinette. And he _loved_ it.

Then her words registered. His eyes widened, and time froze and he felt as alert as he did facing an akuma. He could see her hands fidgeting nervously, her heaving chest as she struggled to replace the air she had just used, the faint pink still staining her cheeks, and her blue eyes darting away in self-consciousness.

"Confession?" He tried to keep the hope out of his voice, but he failed.

Her eyes widened before her face fell into her hands again, as she mumbled incoherently into her palms. And god, this blending of Marinette and Ladybug right in front of him was making him dizzy. He stepped forwards again and gently pulled her hands from her face, revealing swirling orbs of blue that peeked out from under her dark eyelashes.

"_I'm_ the boy? _Me?_" He asked. Her blush darkened, but she gave a slight nod. He laughed in absolute delight. "I'm the boy," he repeated, but this time it was a revelation and not a question. If he felt like he was floating before, he was _flying_ now. And he was never going to come back down to earth again.

"Me. Adrien. I'm the boy you love," he rambled, a grin as wide as the Seine stretched across his face. "You rejected Chat Noir-me for Adrien-me." He was never going to stop smiling.

"_Adrien_," she whined, over enunciating all three syllables of his name. "Stop looking so pleased with yourself!"

He shook his head. "But you love me. _Ladybug_ loves _me_."

She blushed yet again, and offered him a gentle smile. "Yeah… I guess she does."

He caressed her cheek and leaned into her space. "May I kiss you?"

She nodded.

His right hand cupped her while his left slipped his fingers between hers. His lips pressed into hers. Just a touch, lingered there for a moment relishing in the gentle contact. She felt soft, warm, and tasted sweet like fruit-flavored candy.

It wasn't his first kiss.

But it was the first kiss he could remember.

He pulled away to see her face still lost in the contact. Her eyes were closed with her head angled up, and she had the smallest smile. Warmth bloomed in his chest at her expression.

Posting that picture had been the best idea he had ever had.

Unless of course, Papillion figured him out. That would lead him straight to Marinette whether or not the villain had cause to suspect she was Ladybug.

His stomach turned to ice.

No… he wouldn't let that happen. He would protect her. He was Chat Noir, and Chat Noir always protected his partner. He always did whatever needed to be done, whether he had to sacrifice himself or just simply created a distraction.

His eyebrows shot into his forehead. That was exactly what he needed to do!

"I have an idea!" he exclaimed.

...

Ladybug refused to open her eyes. She wouldn't recover if she opened them only to discover that the last two minutes had only been a dream.

This wasn't her first kiss, and it wasn't even her first kiss with Adrien. But the first one had been in the middle of a battle with no time to savor the moment. This is the kiss she would choose to cherish in her memory.

He pulled back, and she tried not to chase him, but she wasn't ready for him to go.

"I have an idea!"

Her eyes finally blinked open at the excitement in his voice. "An idea?" she asked. "F-for what?" Why was she _still_ stuttering?!

His meadow-green eyes were vibrant, and he still held her hand. The contact was grounding her even if the gloves of her suit remained between them. "To solve my floating sock problem. We need a distraction. Can you detransform?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "What? Why?"

"Please?" he begged and somehow his eyes got wider and softer, and his lower lip trembled in an over-exaggerated pout. She was going to have to work on her resistance to that look. "We could do this as Ladybug and Adrien. It might even work better at solving the sock identity vulnerability, but it would do that by putting your identity more at risk if we show any public affection in our civilian identities. It's better to do this as Adrien and Marinette."

"Spots off," she whispered. Chat Noir was the person she trusted most in the world.

The familiar buzz tingled down her form, and Adrien was staring at her like he'd never seen her before all over again.

Her face and neck blazed in sudden embarrassment. "What?" she asked, looking down at her fingers.

"I just… it really is you," he whispered, his voice filled with awe. "I mean, I knew that, but… but now, it's _real_."

Tikki took that moment to flutter up between them. "Marinette, what are you…?"

Marinette waved her off. "Not now, Tikki! It's too late. I'm sorry!" She turned back to Adrien. "What did you have in mind?"

He grinned so brightly. Seriously, she was going to get sunburned from his smiles, and reached a hand out to her. "Come here," he directed as he pulled her into his arms. It was terrifying how good it felt to be held in his arms. She felt hot and cold, vulnerable and safe, nervous and loved. And she felt it all at once. It was quite the heady experience.

Then he touched their foreheads together and she got lost in his eyes, which beamed with absolute adoration all directed at her. Heat pooled into her cheeks at the intimacy of their unwavering eye contact.

She chided herself. They had been in far more intimate and compromising positions in their suits. But right now, they were without their masks. And she felt so much more vulnerable.

But also giddy with joy.

After only seconds had passed, Adrien pulled out his phone, and snapped a few pictures of them, but his eyes never left her face until after he finished. Only then did he glance down at the screen to view their results.

"What do you think?" He asked, swiping through the burst of shots as he turned the screen to show her.

Looking at the pictures, Marinette couldn't breathe, let alone speak. The only thing more powerful than seeing Adrien's love sick eyes focused intently and unerringly on hers was seeing her own expression mirroring his own. She brushed his hand away and went through the pictures herself more slowly, tears threatening to drop from the corner of her eyes when she landed on her favorite. In the image, Adrien was smiling like a child tasting sugar for the first time in its life, while Marinette looked dazed like the world had just been turned upside down, which it had, but in the best possible way.

She had to clear her throat before she could speak. "This one," she said, handing the device back to him.

"I like this one too," he agreed as his fingers flew across the small touch screen, setting up a new Instagram post. He turned the final result towards her, so she could read the caption.

_Spending the afternoon with my new girlfriend._

"What do you say? Are you ready to become social-media-official with me?" he asked with a smirk. But his free hand was rubbing the back of his neck.

The nervous tick threw her, and she realized he wasn't _just_ creating a distraction. He was also asking her out, and he was nervous. Somehow that calmed her.

She bit her lip and nodded again. And suddenly he was kissing her again, and she hoped that she never got used to the sensation. It was perfect. Even though she disapproved of his recklessness, part of her was really glad that he had posted that picture if it meant she could have a dozen more moments like this.

When he pulled away, he buried his head into his phone once again. She frowned at how quickly he was distracted, and looked over his arm to see what he was adding to his post.

_When I kiss her, I feel so dizzy I see spots._

"_Adrien!_" she scolded, slapping his arm. Was he seriously going to risk her identity for a stupid _pun!_

He laughed, and immediately deleted the sentence. "Okay! Okay! How about… the princess of my heart?"

"Totally over the top cheesy!" she screeched, trying harder to wrestle away his phone.

Before she succeeded, he hit the "share" button. Then, he immediately surrendered the device to her, and pulled her back against his chest, his chin resting on her shoulder as they stood cheek to cheek, looking at his phone, which was already lighting up and buzzing with dozens of notifications. Marinette watched in abject fascination. This was almost unfair.

Within two minutes, Marinette's cell had started ringing, and over the next five minutes, Alya had called fourteen times and left four voicemails. Exasperated, Marinette texted her back.

_I'm trying to make out with my boyfriend. Quit interrupting! _

That ought to get her to shut up.

Sure enough, Alya sent her a squealing emoji in response and then there was silence.

Within ten minutes, the new photo had exceeded the five thousand likes of the deleted picture. Congratulatory and heartbroken comments poured in almost faster than Adrien or Marinette could read.

Another five minutes passed, and the newly formed couple jumped apart at the sudden pounding on Adrien's bedroom door.

"Adrien, would you please open this door right now and explain how Ms. Dupain-Cheng came to be in your room without going through the front door," Nathalie called from the other side of the wooden barrier.

"I guess that's my cue to leave," Marinette whispered, stepping away from her new boyfriend - she had an actual _boyfriend_ \- and towards the window.

Adrien immediately grabbed her hand. "Actually, it might be better if you stayed?" he said nervously. "I may not have thought this _entirely_ through either… as this photo is obviously in my room. It's easier to explain sneaking you in here than is explaining where you disappeared to."

"_Adrien!_" She hissed. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Hopefully love me forever?" He suggested with an exaggerated grin.

"Adrien!" Nathalie yelled through the door.

Marinette laughed. "You might want to open the door before your father's assistant gets akumatized."

"You'll stay?" he whispered, his trembling eyes the only sign that he was scared to face the dragon on the other side of his bedroom door alone.

She nodded, and threaded her hand through his. "You and me against the world, right?"

"The world plus Nathalie. She's scarier than the rest of the world," he said cheekily even as he unlocked and opened the door.

God, Marinette was completely in love with this dork. And she was going to have to put up with him, his ill-thought-out-over-th-top schemes to impress her, and his stupid smug smirk for who knew how long.

Maybe forever.

But then again, maybe none of those things were so bad.

…

So this is NOT the fic I was supposed to be working on like AT ALL! Like I have two stories that are one chapter away from completion and an entirely different multi-chapter story that I want to get out for Ladrien June, but... you're getting this one anyway! Sorry! Not sorry! Because I've been feeling emotionally raw, and I needed to work on something easy. Hope you enjoyed the product of my emotionally coping with things.


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